Review: Apple’s iPad Air is a big tablet without all the baggage

Apple's new tablet is an embiggened version of the perfectly cromulent iPad mini.

The above is the message that greeted me when I got home from Apple's iPad announcement two weeks ago and turned on my fourth-generation iPad. iCloud backups happen automatically when your tablet is plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi. You plug your tablet in when the battery is low and you need to recharge it. You need to recharge the battery because you've been draining its power by using the tablet. And unless I'm actively testing something on it for a review, I rarely use my fourth-generation iPad.

There's no one reason why this pretty, powerful tablet spends most of its time powered off and buried under a pile of other things, but I'd point to its relative size and weight as major contributing factors. Since the original Nexus 7 and iPad mini ushered in the era of actually-usable small tablets, I've come to prefer them for the things I use a tablet for. Reading Kindle books, Web browsing, and gaming are all just more comfortable on something smaller. This equation might differ for people who get more work done on their tablets, but when I'm on a tablet, I'm specifically looking to avoid work, and to my mind smaller and lighter tablets are simply better equipped to be content consumption devices.

The iPad Air is a "big" tablet remade in the iPad mini's image. This isn't just about what it looks like (though the Air and the Retina iPad mini look basically identical in pictures without other objects nearby for scale), but about how it feels.

You don't need to hold an iPad Air to see that it's very different from full-size iPads of years past. With its thinner profile and slimmer bezels, it resembles nothing so much as a big iPad mini. If you want to summarize the new tablet for a layperson, that's the one-sentence explainer.

The Air's styling has been updated to bring the full-size iPad into line with Apple's other recent designs: the iPad mini, the iPhone 5 and 5S, and the fifth-generation iPod touch. That means an anodized aluminum body and chamfered edges, as well as boxier (but still curved) corners. It brings a consistency to Apple's high-end iOS lineup that wasn't there in the previous iPad's almost Mac-like design.

Changes aside, the iPad Air is still an iPad. The buttons and ports are in the same places as they were before. It's still a big aluminum-and-glass slab that's mostly screen. The most significant change to the tablet is the first thing we noticed about the iPad Air in our hands-on time with it: its size and weight have been substantially reduced. Moving from 1.44 pounds to one pound makes the tablet easier to hold in one hand for extended periods of time, easy to shake around in landscape mode when you're playing a game, and easier to prop on your chest for some bedtime Netflix viewing.

Enlarge/ The iPad Air (right) has slimmer bezels than the fourth-generation iPad (left).

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ In fact, the new Air looks quite a lot like the iPad mini (left).

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ Our iPad Air (right) is the black fronted, "space gray" backed version, but it also comes in white and silver. The black color used in the iPhone 5 and first-generation iPad mini has been tossed out, possibly to reduce the visibility of scratches and chips.

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ The buttons and ports are in the same places as before, and the Air isn't a drastic departure from past iPads. The iPad Air's main draw is that it's much thinner and lighter than the older Retina iPads.

Andrew Cunningham

Let's take something like the Infinity Blade series as an example. This game (and many other tablet games) are best played with one hand gripping the tablet and the other poking at the screen. With the full-size iPad, I usually can't make it to the end of a battle without the hand that's holding the tablet becoming fatigued, so playing with the tablet on a table or propped up with a Smart Cover is the only really enjoyable way to do it. With the iPad Air, it's actually not out of the question to hold the tablet in your hands while you play. The iPad Air doesn't change what you can do with your tablet (play Infinity Blade), but it can change how you do things and how pleasant and comfortable it is to do them.

The tablet's dimensions shrink along with its weight. It's about as tall as the older iPad, but 0.7 inches narrower and 0.08 inches thinner (these figures sound a little more impressive when expressed as percentages: 9.7 percent narrower and 21.6 percent thinner). Much of the reduction comes from chopping down the bezels, particularly those to the left and right of the screen. This leaves less space to rest your fingers or thumbs if you're holding the tablet in your hand, but the reduction in weight means that you don't need to grip the tablet as tightly to hold it steady. There's an argument that thicker bezels can help to make a tablet more usable and easier to hold, but in the case of the iPad Air, things just about even out.

The iPad Air's fit and finish is similar to what Apple established in the iPad mini: thin and light, but rigid and sturdy-feeling with no creaking and flexing. The iPad Air doesn't have the more brick-like feeling of the older Retina iPads, so if you associate that heft with well-made consumer electronics you'll be disappointed, but it feels rugged enough that I wouldn't be scared to throw it in a bag with nothing but its (new, iPad mini-like) Smart Cover attached to the screen.

Enlarge/ The new cover (left) adopts the same hinge as the iPad mini version. The old hinge (right) would wiggle around independently of the cover, making it a little more irritating to remove and replace quickly.

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ The new Smart Cover tilts the iPad Air (left) back a little more than the old one did.

Andrew Cunningham

For all the tablet's new-ness, it notably lacks the new Touch ID fingerprint scanner introduced in the iPhone 5S. It's possible that the fingerprint scanner is supply constrained and Apple needs all of the current supply for the iPhone. It's also possible that Apple doesn't think a fingerprint scanner is necessary on a tablet, which is often unlocked less frequently and compulsively than a smartphone. We would expect the iPads to pick the feature up next year when the technology behind Touch ID (and the manufacturing processes used to make the sensors) has had some time to mature and improve. As it is, the omission in this year's tablets is disappointing but not crippling.

The screen

Enlarge/ If you've used a Retina iPad before, you've seen this display already.

Andrew Cunningham

The display itself is more or less identical to the one Apple has used in the first two Retina iPads. It's the same 9.7-inch size, same 2048×1536 resolution, the same 264 PPI density, and the same color, contrast, and brightness. Side by side with our fourth-generation iPad, whites on the iPad Air were a bit warmer, but this kind of variation is normal between tablets based on the manufacturer of the display panel or even different batches of panels from the same manufacturer. The Retina iPads' screens have been eclipsed in the density war by tablets like the Nexus 10 or the latest Galaxy Note 10.1, but the difference between an 264 PPI screen and a 300 PPI screen is largely academic. Text and Retina-optimized apps, icons, and images are all nice and sharp, and the shorter 4:3 aspect ratio makes the tablet usable in portrait and landscape modes where 16:9 and 16:10 tablets this size are better-suited to landscape use.

Enlarge/ Up close with the Retina iPads' 264 PPI screen. You can see individual pixels, but they're very difficult to resolve at normal viewing distances.

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ The 300 PPI Nexus 10 up close. The density is a little better, but you're still looking at visible-up-close, invisible-from-a-foot-away pixels, just like on the iPad.

Andrew Cunningham

The only really bad thing about the display is the air gap that Apple has left between the LCD itself and the top layer of glass. This has the side-effect of making the screen easier to repair if that's your thing, but compared to a device with a fused LCD and glass like the iPhone 5S or the Retina MacBook Pro the colors and contrast are a bit more muted. The problem gets worse in direct sunlight, which washes the iPad's screen out more drastically than the iPhone's or the MacBook's.

The difference between a fused screen and an unfused one is more subtle than, say, the difference between a Retina display and a non-Retina display, or the difference between a TN LCD panel and an IPS LCD. Still, given both Apple's push to make the full-size iPad thinner and lighter and the company's push to fuse the LCD and glass layers in its other products, the Air's, um, air gap is puzzling.

I'm more than interested in the weight reduction. I went with a mini for the wife for exactly the reason you noted here: you simply can't hold it in one hand, it's too heavy. The lower weight of this model is what I'm looking for.

Is there a planet which produces all these tech reviewers whose tiny avian wrist bones snap under the crushing weight of 1.5 Lbs of pressure? I often here this refrain that the iPad is too large or heavy to be actually useable. I much preferred the size and weight of my iPad 2 and iPhone 4. The heft of all that aluminum and glass provided me with a sense that the product I was using was well constructed with quality materials. By comparison, the latest generation of iOS hardware feels cheap and disposable. Even though I know the phone on which I'm typing this message is made of aluminum and glass, the whole thing feels like cheap plastic in my hand. It no longer conveys a sense of quality through tactile feedback. To be fair, I also preferred the original Xbox controller that was actually large enough to fit in my adult male hands. I know that's not a sentiment shared by a majority of readers. But how small do you have to be in order to think an iPad is too large and cumbersome for daily use?!

I know everyone uses different battery life tests, but does not the Nexus 7 2013 on that chart seem low for browsing? Ars mentioned similar hours for video playback but I saw nothing on a browser battery test. How does Ars do a browser battery test? What brightness and luminance settings are used?

Anandtech got twice the battery life out of the Nexus 7 2013. Same life out of the iPad Air.

iPad 3 user here. I'll definitely wait for a future iPad with 2GB RAM before upgrading. The fact that the iPad Air still only has 1 GB RAM while running 64 bit apps that consume 30% more RAM is an absolute dealbreaker for me, that point alone might make the iPad Air obsolete just as quickly as my iPad3.

"1GB of RAM may prove to be a liability, especially as 64-bit apps become more common"

Apple continuing to skimp on RAM in their iPads makes me sad. I don’t understand why they’d continue pushing them as productivity devices while unnecessarily hindering the physical memory. I’m still a little mad at the 2012 version of myself for buying a tablet with only half a gig of RAM.

Is there a planet which produces all these tech reviewers whose tiny avian wrist bones snap under the crushing weight of 1.5 Lbs of pressure? I often here this refrain that the iPad is too large or heavy to be actually useable. I much preferred the size and weight of my iPad 2 and iPhone 4. The heft of all that aluminum and glass provided me with a sense that the product I was using was well constructed with quality materials. By comparison, the latest generation of iOS hardware feels cheap and disposable. Even though I know the phone on which I'm typing this message is made of aluminum and glass, the whole thing feels like cheap plastic in my hand. It no longer conveys a sense of quality through tactile feedback. To be fair, I also preferred the original Xbox controller that was actually large enough to fit in my adult male hands.

Don't know what planet they were born on, but the regular iPad was way too heavy for enjoyable use for my 70+ year old parents. We're "weighing" her preference between the mini and the Air - size also comes into play as far as useability goes, too. I'm in my 40's, also find the regular iPad too heavy that I wasn't using it much, same seems to go with most people I talk to, and also seems to be the consensus when I read iPad mini reviews (that people prefer a light tablet). Definitely prefer my light little Kindle when it's time to do some reading.

Then again, I'm an adult male, the old XBox didn't fit in my hand comfortably, felt like holding a ham hock - the new one is perfect (other than my fingertips running into where the battery pack is).

I guess I don't see the advantages to "heft" nor associate bigness with being an adult (or human).

The iPad Air isn't cheap, but similar tablets from other ecosystems aren't so different.

Glad to finally hear someone talking sense about comparing like products. The iPad Air is a premium tablet. It costs about the same as other premium tablets. People - including quite a few in the media - persist in comparing them against $200 POS tablets that are just not meant to compete with a full size iPad.

Is there a planet which produces all these tech reviewers whose tiny avian wrist bones snap under the crushing weight of 1.5 Lbs of pressure? I often here this refrain that the iPad is too large or heavy to be actually useable. I much preferred the size and weight of my iPad 2 and iPhone 4. The heft of all that aluminum and glass provided me with a sense that the product I was using was well constructed with quality materials. By comparison, the latest generation of iOS hardware feels cheap and disposable. Even though I know the phone on which I'm typing this message is made of aluminum and glass, the whole thing feels like cheap plastic in my hand. It no longer conveys a sense of quality through tactile feedback. To be fair, I also preferred the original Xbox controller that was actually large enough to fit in my adult male hands. I know that's not a sentiment shared by a majority of readers. But how small do you have to be in order to think an iPad is too large and cumbersome for daily use?!

I wouldn't say the older iPad was too heavy to be useable. But my wrists are more metal than bone at this point and after an hour or so it made them feel tired, if not painful/sore. Changing up to an iPad Mini actually did wonders for this. So, I guess it depends on how long you're going to be using it per sitting and how you're holding it that makes the weight/size more critical. I imagine most reviewers tend to be on the order of "Well I better spend two hours with this damn thing so I can just write the review and get my editor off my back." 2 hours later. "Gosh this thing is heavy."

Is there a planet which produces all these tech reviewers whose tiny avian wrist bones snap under the crushing weight of 1.5 Lbs of pressure? I often here this refrain that the iPad is too large or heavy to be actually useable. I much preferred the size and weight of my iPad 2 and iPhone 4. The heft of all that aluminum and glass provided me with a sense that the product I was using was well constructed with quality materials. By comparison, the latest generation of iOS hardware feels cheap and disposable. Even though I know the phone on which I'm typing this message is made of aluminum and glass, the whole thing feels like cheap plastic in my hand. It no longer conveys a sense of quality through tactile feedback. To be fair, I also preferred the original Xbox controller that was actually large enough to fit in my adult male hands. I know that's not a sentiment shared by a majority of readers. But how small do you have to be in order to think an iPad is too large and cumbersome for daily use?!

I own an iPad 3. I have large hands. I am both strong and in good shape. I find holding the iPad 3 (especially with the smart cover attached) suspended in the air away from my body to be uncomfortable because of the size and especially the weight. I'm not alone. Pretty much everyone I know who owns one feels the same way. I love the tablet, and I use it all the time, but it's just not that comfortable to hold in certain positions.

The 16GB Storage and 1GB RAM are the biggest issues keeping me from upgrading. Plus, the fact that iPad 2 is still being sold means my old iPads (2nd and 3rd generations) will be well supported for a while longer.

I really don't understand Apple's reasoning for sticking with 16GB as the low-end storage. Obviously the profits from storage are a big part of the reason. iCloud is probably another big part of the reason; Apple wants customers to use iCloud and limiting the storage on the device (a) encourages use of iCloud and (b) forces people back into the App Store more often to re-download apps.

2013 should have been the year to make 32GB the new minimum. It's a typical move by Apple; leaving a bit to be desired so next year's products look that much more attractive.

Is there a planet which produces all these tech reviewers whose tiny avian wrist bones snap under the crushing weight of 1.5 Lbs of pressure? I often here this refrain that the iPad is too large or heavy to be actually useable. I much preferred the size and weight of my iPad 2 and iPhone 4. The heft of all that aluminum and glass provided me with a sense that the product I was using was well constructed with quality materials. By comparison, the latest generation of iOS hardware feels cheap and disposable. Even though I know the phone on which I'm typing this message is made of aluminum and glass, the whole thing feels like cheap plastic in my hand. It no longer conveys a sense of quality through tactile feedback. To be fair, I also preferred the original Xbox controller that was actually large enough to fit in my adult male hands. I know that's not a sentiment shared by a majority of readers. But how small do you have to be in order to think an iPad is too large and cumbersome for daily use?!

I agree, I've had an iPad 2 since the day it came out and I don't recall ever thinking how much better it would be if it were thinner and lighter. I'm not saying those aren't great features, but I personally wouldn't spend another $500+ just to get a lighter iPad. Storage space would be my reason to upgrade since I'm kicking myself for settling for 16GB rather than 32GB like I planned on.

I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't noticed a problem with the amount of ram Apple puts in its tablets. I've been nabbing each iteration since the 2 and for moderate web browsing + music + heavy document writing and editng, I've never noticed a problem. *shrug*

I bought the new iPad Air to replace my 'New iPad' and couldn't be happier. The decision was made even easier since my parents were pushing me to get one so they could have mine!

Even though the weight reduction and size reduction don't sound like a whole lot on paper, when you start using the Air it makes a huge real world difference. The entire feel of the tablet changes from a little bulky to just exactly right.

Doubling the WiFi speed makes a big difference and while iOS7 seemed to slow down my last iPad, it's perfect for the Air. Having 128 gigs of memory as an option for my increasing use of video is a nice plus as well.

I appreciate the review, I always like to see the numbers and just wanted to add that the Air 'feels' like a really big and very welcome upgrade.

Edit: Now that I've used this for a week, I have to add that the recharging time is much faster than my old iPad. This is a big QoL issue for me.

I know everyone uses different battery life tests, but does not the Nexus 7 2013 on that chart seem low for browsing? Ars mentioned similar hours for video playback but I saw nothing on a browser battery test. How does Ars do a browser battery test? What brightness and luminance settings are used?

Anandtech got twice the battery life out of the Nexus 7 2013. Same life out of the iPad Air.

I thought those numbers seemed really low too. I haven't done any proper battery tests, but get well more than 6.5 hours on my 2013 Nexus 7 with fairly heavy usage. Those numbers seem suspect to me.

I went with a friend of mine when they went to pick up their new iPad Air. I wouldn't give up my Nexus 7 for it, but I will admit I was impressed with the lightness and performance of it. It *feels* almost the exact same weight as my Nexus 7, even though it's obviously bigger, and as the performance benchmarks in the article show, it is quite fast for a lot of tasks. However I've never felt at any time that my Nexus 7 was lagging.

On the flip side, the Nexus 7 screen is actually quite a bit brighter and, for me, much easier to read than the screen on the Air. And the biggest selling factor for it, aside from the much lower prices, is that it fits easily in my jeans back pocket and in my cargo shorts pockets. The Air is still too big for that, and the Mini, while obviously closer in size to the Nexus 7, is just too much $$ for me, and too limited in customizability.

On the whole, whichever platform you choose, anyone who isn't a total fanboy has to admit that pretty much ALL the tablets available these days, whether iOS, Android, or Windows are pretty damned cool! I'm loving this new era of tablets, and I realize that 10 years ago, I'd have pretty much killed to get my hands on ANY of these!

I think people complaining about the RAM are the kind of people who buy based purely on specs. I have yet to see a single comment that demonstrates how the amount of RAM would affect usage of the iPad Air.

I know everyone uses different battery life tests, but does not the Nexus 7 2013 on that chart seem low for browsing? Ars mentioned similar hours for video playback but I saw nothing on a browser battery test. How does Ars do a browser battery test? What brightness and luminance settings are used?

Anandtech got twice the battery life out of the Nexus 7 2013. Same life out of the iPad Air.

Everything's set at 50% with the auto-brightness sensor disabled, which I realize isn't really scientific. More detailed analyses of screens (and, with them, the ability to set screens to a uniform brightness level for battery testing) are coming to our reviews, but our team is dispersed widely and it will take a little time for us to get the equipment we need and get up to speed using it.

I think people complaining about the RAM are the kind of people who buy based purely on specs. I have yet to see a single comment that demonstrates how the amount of RAM would affect usage of the iPad Air.

Anand noted that he had a few out-of-memory related crashes on the Air while he was testing it, and while I haven't had any problems with that I have noticed the lack of RAM show up in other ways - Safari tab reloading, apps being quit/suspended/losing their place the minute you switch away from them, etc. iOS is pretty good at covering for a (relative) lack of RAM and light-to-medium users who stick mostly to Apple's apps probably won't notice much, but it does impact the experience sometimes.

It's more of a concern for future use than it is right now - those RAM-related issues crop up even more often on my 512MB iPhone 4S or iPod touch, for example, and the 1GB iOS devices will start doing it more often once 2GB devices actually start showing up.

I think people complaining about the RAM are the kind of people who buy based purely on specs. I have yet to see a single comment that demonstrates how the amount of RAM would affect usage of the iPad Air.

The RAM is currently not a problem. People anticipate issues with the iPad Air and older generations as more apps move towards taking advantage of the 64bit capabilities of the A7 and beyond. There are concerns that the iPad Air will be outdated at a fast rate because of the RAM limitations. We'll have to wait a couple years to find out if this actually equates to any real-world problems.

I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't noticed a problem with the amount of ram Apple puts in its tablets. I've been nabbing each iteration since the 2 and for moderate web browsing + music + heavy document writing and editng, I've never noticed a problem. *shrug*

the 5s blows away my iPad3, and they both apparently have the same RAM.so not sure my past complaints on RAM are justified.

The Microsoft fanboy in me wants to jump on this for not being innovative enough, it's lack of RAM or it's lack of USB. But being a current iPad 2 owner I know just how good a product Apple have in their iPad, so too many changes are unnecessary. I've been using this thing for a while now, it's time to change, and if I'm honest the Air is enticing. But... With Nokia coming with a tablet and The news of an improved battery life on the Surface 2 Pro; waiting seems like the only thing to do.

I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't noticed a problem with the amount of ram Apple puts in its tablets. I've been nabbing each iteration since the 2 and for moderate web browsing + music + heavy document writing and editng, I've never noticed a problem. *shrug*

I think now that clock speed has been taken away as a measuring stick, RAM size is the only thing left for enthusiasts to cling onto. And cling they do.

After using the Air for a weekend and comparing it to my old 2 and 3, I think the next version's headline feature needs to be more along the lines of "double the battery life" or "double the animation speeds" than "double the RAM". Honestly, all the clamor over more RAM is painfully disproportionate to what doubling that RAM would actually do for most folks's usage...

The Microsoft fanboy in me wants to jump on this for not being innovative enough, it's lack of RAM or it's lack of USB. But being a current iPad 2 owner I know just how good a product Apple have in their iPad, so too many changes are unnecessary. I've been using this thing for a while now, it's time to change, and if I'm honest the Air is enticing. But... With Nokia coming with a tablet and The news of an improved battery life on the Surface 2 Pro; waiting seems like the only thing to do.

I think people complaining about the RAM are the kind of people who buy based purely on specs. I have yet to see a single comment that demonstrates how the amount of RAM would affect usage of the iPad Air.

Anand noted that he had a few out-of-memory related crashes on the Air while he was testing it, and while I haven't had any problems with that I have noticed the lack of RAM show up in other ways - Safari tab reloading, apps being quit/suspended/losing their place the minute you switch away from them, etc. iOS is pretty good at covering for a (relative) lack of RAM and light-to-medium users who stick mostly to Apple's apps probably won't notice much, but it does impact the experience sometimes.

It's more of a concern for future use than it is right now - those RAM-related issues crop up even more often on my 512MB iPhone 4S or iPod touch, for example, and the 1GB iOS devices will start doing it more often once 2GB devices actually start showing up.

It doesn't have to take until 2GB iOS devices show up - as soon as more recompiled 64 bit apps show up, the RAM will get more crowded.

Effectively (because of the larger RAM footprint of the 64 bit apps), the iPad Air has taken a step backwards as far as RAM is concerned. It's not a standstill, the RAM situation on the iPad Air is WORSE than on the iPad 3 and iPad 4.

It's more of a concern for future use than it is right now - those RAM-related issues crop up even more often on my 512MB iPhone 4S or iPod touch, for example, and the 1GB iOS devices will start doing it more often once 2GB devices actually start showing up.

This is the same conversation that's been had for every single iPhone and iPad release. Has there been one iOS device release where people didn't complain about the amount of RAM? Especially in regard to competitor devices who always seem to feature about 2x the RAM.

It would be interesting to hear from Apple why exactly they do this. Maybe it's planned obsolescence. Who knows. But generally, Apple supports its devices for a longer period of time or equivalent period of time to those contemporaneous devices with 2x the RAM. Future use of Apple iOS devices is actually their strength.

What people are probably more concerned about are exactly the RAM related issues of not having enough apps or browser tabs in background. Maybe Apple thinks as the CPU and memory get faster, the costs of an app killed and restarted gets less and less, as long as the app remembers state. If the app or browser remembers state, it may appear seamless. Obviously not today, but maybe that's why they do it.

Andrew Cunningham / Andrew has a B.A. in Classics from Kenyon College and has over five years of experience in IT. His work has appeared on Charge Shot!!! and AnandTech, and he records a weekly book podcast called Overdue.